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Fluke Calibration Blog
Calibration Equipment & Standards and Calibration Software
Nov 30, 2012
Three questions to ask yourself…plus four types of facts to gather
You go to your boss and say “I need a new calibrator.” The boss says, “Great, here’s a blank check, go ahead and buy whatever you need.” Ok, that’s the fantasy. In real life, the boss is likely to respond to your request with questions beginning with “Why…” and “How much…” And the first answer you’ll likely get is “No.” So how can you turn that “No” into “Yes,” or better still, get to “Yes” on the first try?
...
Nov 28, 2012
I’m a big fan of calibration baths. When I managed our temperature calibration laboratory, I relied on them. With a series of baths and a liquid nitrogen comparator, we were able to perform a large volume of accredited temperature calibrations with lower uncertainties from -197 °C to 500 °C than would have been possible in any other way. Sometimes we would get a probe that was large and bent, or very small, or had a large handle and it would slow us down, but it would not stop us, because the...
Nov 08, 2012
Look up any list of “most common fears” and one of the top items will be “fear of public speaking.” But chances are, at some time in your professional career you will be called upon to give a presentation. Whether you’re speaking to a small group of colleagues at your company or a group of professionals at a conference, here are some tips to help you succeed – and perhaps even enjoy your experience as a public speaker.
Know your audience
Are you speaking to a peer group? Will the...
Oct 22, 2012
Alignment of terminology: calibration and verification
"The more critical the decision, the more critical the data. The more critical the data, the more critical the measurement."
–NASA Reference Publication 1342
ISO 17025 was initially released in 1999. In 2005, it underwent minor revision to align better to ISO 9000:2000. In 2010, the standard was up for review again and rather than voting for revision, the vote was to confirm the standard as-is for another five years. In attending the 2012...
Oct 17, 2012
I initially thought interpreting electrical specifications was a little daunting. But once you get the basics, it’s really pretty straightforward. Specifications in dc/low frequency electrical calibration are based around a simple “y = mx + b” linear equation for both sourcing and measuring instruments. Manufacturers’ use terms like “% of reading + % of full scale” or “% of reading + units”, all based on two terms, a scale factor error (“m”) and an offset or floor “b”. Really, pretty...
Oct 08, 2012
Jim is an ambitious new metrologist at ABC Tech. He wants to become more visible in his department and in the metrology community at large, so he decides to submit a paper to a prestigious conference. He schedules some time for himself over the weekend to sit down and think about it.
Sitting in front of a blinking cursor on his computer monitor, Jim freezes. He thought he knew what he wanted to write about, but now he’s drawing a blank.
Writer’s block isn’t limited to metrologists...
Oct 03, 2012
1. Introduction of Three Methods
Knowledge of size of source is important for your infrared thermometer calibration. You should use this knowledge in determining a proper size for the thermal radiation source used for the calibration. The three methods to study the amount of source are listed below.
Field-of-view Test
Field-of-view Specification
Sweep
2. Description of Methods
2a. Field-of-view (Target Size) Test Method
The field-of-view or target size method is described in ASTM E1256...
Aug 28, 2012
Pascal’s principal says that in a closed container a change in pressure at one location will be experienced equally in any other part of the pressure circuit. This principal allows pressure metrologists to simply connect a device under test (DUT) to a reference, change the pressure to a value they want to test, then compare the reference and device under test. But I probably should not have used to the adjective “simply”. There is a lot to consider when deciding how to...
Aug 24, 2012
Dave buys a new calibration bath because of a requirement to calibrate to –80°C. His boss notices the temperature range on the bath is from –80 °C to 110 °C. Sensing a new source of revenue, the boss says, “Great, now we can finally calibrate thermometers to 110 °C too.”
“No”, Dave says, “we can’t set the temperature higher than 70°C”
“Why, what’s wrong with the bath?”
“Nothing, it’s working perfectly.”
Confused and agitated, the boss leaves while mumbling something about temperature...
Aug 14, 2012
Another NCSLI conference is in the books. This year, the metrology faithful (and budget funded!) once again gathered to gain knowledge through tutorials and technical presentations, contribute to the industry through attendance of committee meetings, talk to vendors at the exhibition, network with some of the world’s experts in metrology and spend time with old friends. There were so many great things happening that I didn’t even have time to compose a single tweet!
As one of the...
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